LEWISTON — Olympic bronze medalist and eight-time Tour de France competitor Levi Leipheimer will take part in the second annual Dempsey Challenge Oct. 2 and 3 in Lewiston.

The 36-year-old Butte, Mont., native, who now lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., joins five-time Olympian George Hincapie and this year’s top American Tour de France finisher, Chris Horner.

The three legendary athletes join a growing list of professional cyclists scheduled to participate in the event benefiting the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing at Central Maine Medical Center.

Leipheimer’s breakthrough performance came four years after turning professional — a third-place finish at his first Grand Tour, the 2001 Vuelta a Espana. He has four top-10 finishes in the Tour de France and a career-best third-place finish in 2007. He placed 13th in the 2010 tour riding for team RadioShack.

Leipheimer is the only three-time Amgen Tour of California winner, earning consecutive yellow jerseys in 2006, ’07 and ’08. He turned in a bronze medal performance for the United States in the 2008 Olympic road time trials in Beijing, China. In August 2010, Leipheimer collected his most recent victory in the Tour of Utah, dubbed “America’s Toughest Stage Race.”

The Dempsey Challenge offers 5K and 10K run/walks on Oct. 2 and cycling routes of 10, 25, 50 and 100 miles on Oct. 3. All events will begin and end at Simard-Payne Police Memorial Park.

For more information, go to www.dempseychallenge.org.